Editing Albert Reynolds (section)

==== Succession ====
It was apparent that Reynolds no longer had enough support to govern, so he resigned as Taoiseach on 17 November 1994.<ref name=Oireachtas28June2016a>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/housesoftheoireachtas/libraryresearch/lrsnotes/LRSNote_Caretaker_govs_FinalDraft28June2016_125621.pdf|title=Caretaker governments and caretaker conventions|publisher=Houses of the Oireachtas|author=Oireachtas Library and Research Service|date=28 June 2016|page=4|access-date=21 March 2017|quote=Box 1. Irish Caretaker Governments ... 1994 ...|archive-date=21 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321171638/https://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/housesoftheoireachtas/libraryresearch/lrsnotes/LRSNote_Caretaker_govs_FinalDraft28June2016_125621.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 19 November 1994, Reynolds resigned as party leader, and the Minister for Finance Bertie Ahern was [[1994 Fianna Fáil leadership election|unanimously elected]] the sixth leader of Fianna Fáil. Reynolds's favoured successor, [[Máire Geoghegan-Quinn]], withdrew from the leadership contest on the morning of the vote. It initially appeared that Labour would rejoin the coalition with Fianna Fáil under Ahern, allowing Ahern to ascend to the position of Taoiseach. Instead, when it emerged that Ahern knew more about another case mishandled by Whelehan than previously known, Spring led Labour into successful coalition negotiations with Fine Gael and Democratic Left, and Fianna Fáil found themselves in opposition against a [[Rainbow Coalition (Ireland)|Rainbow Coalition]]. Reynolds remained acting Taoiseach until [[John Bruton]] took office on 15 December and then returned to the opposition backbenches.